IPL 2010

I think the whole issue of no bidding for any pakistani player for IPL 2010 by any of the franchisees is purely a business decision. There is no reason for people to think that Indian government has any kind of role to play behind this. The simple logical thinking that any sensible businessman who has a monetary interest in any of the participating teams would be somewhat like this. With the ongoing political tensions between India and Pakistan post 26/11 terrorist attack in Mumbai, there is a fair amount of suspicion that Pakistani players may have a hard time getting visas. Forget the deadline of Dec 7 2009 missed by the PCB to obtain visas for their players who had existing contracts. Even if the risk of buying a pakistani player and not seeing him play due to visa issues was to be discounted, public show of resentment within certain sections of Indian society cannot be ruled out. To add further to this point, political parties like Shiv Sena can make full use of this opportunity to create disturbances in normal routine of the city of Mumbai which is one of the venues for IPL matches. Why would any of the IPL team owners want to take such a risk when huge amount of money is at stake? Why would IPL organizers let this be a threat against peaceful show of entertainment? People want quality matches and would definitely like to see players like Shahid Afridi and Shoaib Akhtar in the event, after all Pakistani team won the T20 2009 world cup.

But one must not forget that it was the Pakistani government which stopped their team to play in the second edition of IPL 2009. Even though it was held in South Africa because of lack of supply of security as it coincided with general elections in India. And now, Pakistani Foreign Office states its interpretation of this episode in the media as "India's unwillingness to resolve bilateral issues through dialogue and peaceful means". Give us a break! Politicizing this issue is not going to take Pakistani government anywhere but make relationship with India even worse. IPL means entertainment for people and business for team owners and shareholders. In no way can personal sentiments or grudges come in the way of this grand sports event.

Shaadi ???

Some of my friends from college are getting engaged or married. Until before, we just felt like grown ups living independent lives with newly found jobs. A lazy bachelor, wearing unironed shirt to work, living in an unclean apartment, feeding on pizzas (or anything readily available). But now that my friends are tying their nuptial knots, I wonder and ask myself "Are we that old?" A sudden gush of thoughts fill my mind. And I am pretty sure these questions have crossed your mind too.

Am I ready to get married? I am just 24...but what if I am 27 and just like the way I am right now?...wait a minute, if at all I were to marry, would I marry the girl I am dating right now? Yeah, she is very nice, takes care of me. May be not, she can be too demanding. But she understands me. Though, I don't understand her sometimes...oh shit, my expenses would just double up after marriage. I won't be able to stay out late at night, plus I won't be able to come home drunk. But thats the whole idea, she will give some stability and organisation to my life . Does it mean I will have to take a bath every morning and mute my farts? C'mmon, thats the way sophisticated people live. (After weeks or years of thinking and n number of relationships) Okay, I think I could marry this girl. But what about mom and dad, would they approve of my choice forgetting the burden of log kya kahenge (what would other people of the social circle say)?...or should I listen to them and agree for an arranged one? Atleast I won't have any expectations from her. Mmm...i don't know.

This is just a glimpse of what may be inside your head when you think of getting married. But seriously, this shaadi ka laddoo is a complicated affair. It reminds me of something what one of my cousins (who i really look up to) told me once that one should marry only when he/she thinks its the right time. False expectations, parental pressure, etc. are going to make things just worse.

See, I was happily editing and uploading my photographs I took today and enjoying funny videos shared by my friends on facebook until few minutes before. And now, trying to find answers to questions which have puzzled generations over and over. Anyways, cheers to my friends who resign their bachelorhood and step into a new journey of life.

My best wishes to you and your partner.

My first one

Not often is a person surprised, proud and ashamed at the same moment. I have found this feeling resurfacing frequently in the recent times. The reason is no less strange. Having traveled to quite a few countries and met people from different parts of the world spanning most of the inhabited earth, I started considering myself as one of those who know something about most of the things. But I have realized how wrong I was. To know something about everything is probably not possible in a life’s time. Well, that is a totally different discussion.

As I was saying that I had the opportunity to talk to people from different nationalities, one observation I made about my conversations with them was that they somehow revolved around India. What was even more surprising was the level of knowledge these people had about India. When I tried to find out what was going on, I came up with the following probable reasons apart from something obvious that I am not very proud of, my poor geography and lack of general knowledge (no wonder I know so less about their home countries).

So, why do people know so much about India? Either its because of the media and the “Emerging Markets - BRIC” thing, or a genuine interest of foren people in India because of its much boasted diversity factor. The word “boasted” used because the very diversity we take pride in is one of the agitating factors causing unrest and loss of peace (again, totally different discussion – probably in of my next posts). I also do not deny the possibility of their acquaintance with facts on major economies of the world, India just being one of them.

Conversing on anyone or anything, from the philosophy and life of Bhagwan Sri Rajneesh (OSHO) to the religious importance of The Ganges, from the notion of arranged marriages in India and parental woes due to the prospect of having a gori (a white skinned girl) daughter-in-law to cows being an integral part of the Indian traffic, people in India eager to have a photograph with a white foreigner to many more, I am often put to a test myself on how much I know about my homeland. I believe that there is so much happening in India everyday with so many “breaking news” from the media, that we cannot get enough of ourselves. It takes an Obama or an Iraqi journalist throwing a shoe at the American President or a Nadal vs. Federer grand slam final to divert our attention. Otherwise, we are happily (or unhappily) busy with our own matters.

There are many aspects to our country that I identified not before I lived in a totally different culture or heard from differently cultured people. Mostly, it is something good, something in praise of India, but not always. There were times when I was offended by a joke on or related to India (even if in a good spirit of humour) but only to realize later that it was indeed true. The whole controversy of “Slumdog Millionaire” presenting India as a poor country, a country that is also registering one of the highest rates of economic growth, is probably the best example here. Is India growing at a very fast rate? Yes. Is India a poor country? I can only say that a major part of the population still lacks the basic necessities of life.

I think I have lost my line of thought here. The more I think on these issues, the more complicated it gets and the more I get carried away with something which is miles and miles from what I started with (or is it?). But in any case, one thing I can surely say is that the respect I have for my country has increased manyfolds after moving out of it. No way I am making a suggestion that one needs to move of the country to find respect for it, but there is definitely a whole new set of ideas with different point of view which questions oneself in a way similar to what you have read above.